A power outage or power failure is a short-term or a long-term loss of the electric power to a particular area. There are many causes of power outages in a utility/electricity network. These causes may include faults at utility premises/power stations, damage to electric transmission lines, substations or other parts of the distribution system, a short circuit, or the overloading of electricity mains. Power outages are particularly critical at sites where the environment and public safety are at risk, such as hospitals, sewage treatment plants, mines, shelters and the like. Other critical systems, such as telecommunications, may also be affected by a power outage. Under certain conditions, a utility network component failing or decreasing in operation can cause disturbances in the network that can lead to a cascading failure of a larger section of the network. This may range from a building, to a block, to an entire city, and/or to an entire electrical grid. Modern utility networks are designed to be resistant to this sort of cascading failure, but it may be unavoidable. What would be desirable is an approach to monitor components of a utility network that would provide real-time alerts and predictions of where and when outages may occur. A technician crew may then be prepared in terms of equipment needs and staging to prevent or lessen the duration of an outage.